Hmm I would have to say either Fire, or the wheel :)

Ron,

Thousand of things were the greatest since sliced bread which only came about in 1928 (Wikipedia) like the automobile, telephone, trains, machines, guns, swords, etc.

Now, that makes me think what did people say before sliced bread that resembled this idiom: "this is the greatest thing since the automobile," or "...since the telephone", and so on backwards?

Just think, grown ups of 25 years ahead will say "this is the greatest thing since the IPod."

John

The story of the invention of sliced bread is both interesting and inspiring.

http://www.chillicothecity.org/bread/breadnews.html

A case can be made for the zipper, invented by

W. L. Judson in 1891, being the greatest thing before sliced bread.

Is there a possibility that the serrated knife was invented right before the first loaf of bread was sliced? Just wondering. You guys just aren't forcing me to think real deep today and I appreciate that. lol

Ron - very few things are better than Bluebell Ice Cream...

does anyone know any inventions since 1996 for a project?

The plasma TV?

The camera phone?

Splenda?

UV gel nails?

Memory sticks?

Downloadable ringtones for cell phones?

PDAs?

Inline skate wheels built into childs' tennis shoes?

All in one scan/print/copy machines for personal use?

Wireless (bluetooth) technology?

A lot of new stuff since 96. . . and I'm sure I'm wrong about a few of the above. But there is so much more . . .

In response to the original post, electricity and the light bulb.  

Indoor plumbing?